Board of Directors

Board member: 1988-1997, 2006-present
Current term ends: 2028

Robert “Nob” has served as president of the World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) from 1992 to 1994 and from 2011 to the present and is on the Executive Board of ARISF. He is also an executive advisor to Allrise Sport and Entertainment, which manages football operations and a 34,000 seat stadium in Odesa, Ukraine. He was an active Ultimate player from 1976 to 1994 and has been involved in positions of leadership in flying disc (frisbee) sports since 1987. He was the National Director/Executive Director of the Ultimate Players Association (now USA Ultimate) from 1988 to 1990 and was chairman of the Executive Committee in 1991-1994. As an athlete playing on Ultimate teams in Chicago, Boston, and New York, Rauch won six US National Championships and five World Championships, and he was elected to the Ultimate Hall of Fame in 2006. He also was a contributing author for the book “Ultimate: The First Five Decades” for Volume 1, published in December 2005, and Volume 2 in January 2019. A long-time New Yorker, Rauch retired in 2023 from a 43-year career in finance and investment banking specializing in debt restructurings in global emerging markets and is currently pursuing a PhD in Sport Management from the Deutsche Sport Hochschule Köln in Germany. He received his bachelor’s degree in political economy from Williams College and master’s degree in finance and international business from the Kellogg School of Northwestern University. Rauch is married to former Ultimate player Katie Shields Rauch and has three adult children.

Board member: 2009-present
Current term ends: 2030

Brian has been a WFDF board member since 2009 and previously from 2002-2007, serving as the Ultimate Committee Chair from 2004-2007 and again from 2009 to the present. He has also been elected as WFDF Vice President since 2021. Brian has been a fixture in the Vancouver area as a player, coach, organizer and administrator for over 25 years. Since 2015, Brian has been the General Manager of BC Ultimate, the Provincial Sports Organization (PSO) responsible for the sport of ultimate in the Province of BC, Canada. He was the Vancouver Ultimate League Board President from 2009-2012 and has also served on the Ultimate Canada board form 2002-2005. He was tournament director of the 2008 World Ultimate and Guts Championships and the 1997 World Ultimate Club Championships and has run several Canadian National Championships. He also served for several years as General Manager of the Major League Ultimate semi-pro team Vancouver Nighthawks. As a player he won the WFDF world ultimate championship in the mixed division in 1998. Brian graduated from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver and spent 20 years working as an IT Consultant for companies in various industries such as forestry, education and medicine before being employed full-time in the sport.

Board member: 2014-present
Current term ends: 2030

Kate rejoined the Board as WFDF Treasurer in 2014, having held this position previously from 2008 through the end of 2012. She has served as a WFDF board member since 2007 and held numerous functions at the Ultimate Players Association (now USA Ultimate) including serving as its President from 2002 to 2004. Kate has worked as a coach for several Women’s Ultimate teams. Most recently she has participated in the Grand Masters women’s division of Ultimate in the USA with Boston Ultimate/Nor’easter. In 2014 Kate was a member of the US Master’s team (Godiva) that won the Silver medal at 2014 World Ultimate Club Championships. Kate is Vice President, Hardware Engineering at Apple, Inc. where she oversees Mac, iPad, Watch, and Audio products.

Board member: 2025-present
Current term ends: 2028

Catherine has served as the Secretary of the World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) since January 2025. With a professional background in project management, international development, and NGO work, she brings a wealth of experience to her new position. Catherine (she/her) is currently the General Secretary of the Uganda Ultimate Frisbee Association and serves as a Youth in Sport Program Advisor for Brotherly Hearts International. Her professional work focuses on inclusivity and community-building through sport, with a particular passion for the empowerment of women and girls. Her journey in Ultimate began in 2016, when she was introduced to the sport. Her commitment and leadership quickly led her to take on key roles within the Uganda Ultimate Frisbee community. Catherine has played a significant part in organizing national tournaments and international events, contributing to the growth of Ultimate Frisbee in her country. Catherine holds a Bachelor’s degree in Project Management and has earned certificates in Sports Administration and Leadership from The Uganda Olympic Committee (UOC), Girls for Girls (G4G) Project and the Hive Global Leaders Program.

Board member: 2025-present
Current term ends: 2028

Craig Sheather has taken on the role of Chair of the Disc Golf Committee as of January 2025, having previously served as a member of the committee. An avid Disc Golf player for over 25 years, Craig has been an influential figure in various provincial and national organizations in Canada. He has organized and chaired major events, including the prestigious BC Open, a PDGA A-tier tournament, as well as National and Provincial Championships in Canada. After a successful 33-year career in the not-for-profit sector, where he served as the Chief Operating Officer at the YMCA, Craig brings a wealth of leadership experience in community-focused organizations. His broad experience as both a player and organizer has helped shape the landscape of Disc Golf in Canada. Craig holds a Bachelor’s degree in Leisure Studies and remains deeply committed to growing the sport at every level, ensuring it remains accessible and engaging for communities everywhere.

Board member: 2026-present
Current term ends: 2030

Mafer Bonilla is chair of the Freestyle committee and is a member of the WFDF Athletes’ Commission. She began playing Ultimate in 2013 and took up both Freestyle and Disc Golf in 2023, quickly achieving outstanding results. In Freestyle, she placed 4th at the 2023 World Championships in Colombia, and in 2024 she received the FPA recognition “New Year, New Champ,” and she continues to compete at a World Championship level. In Disc Golf, she became the 2024 National Champion and 2025 National Runner-up, also earning her certification as a PDGA coach. Beyond competition, Mafer has taken on leadership roles serving as both coach and captain of her departmental team, and even organizing binational disc golf events that strengthen the regional community. In 2024, she also founded Vuelo Colectivo, a project dedicated to growing and promoting flying disc sports across Colombia, with a special focus on freestyle. Mafer has been a teacher since 2010, working with communities of diverse ages and contexts. She recently completed a Master’s degree in Pedagogical Mediation of Learning in English at Unad Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia and is preparing to begin her Doctoral studies at Upel (Universidad Pedagógica Experimental Libertador).

Board member: 2018-present
Current term ends: 2030

Rob McLeod is a full time motivational speaker and frisbee ambassador with 13 Guinness World Records, 21 WFDF World Records, and 14 World Championships in the sport of flying disc. Also known as Frisbee Rob, he has competed in all of the disc sports recognized by the WFDF and is still an active player in most of them, having been playing frisbee for 22 years. Over the past eight years Rob has been to more than 400 schools, ran more than 6,000 workshops, and taught frisbee to more than 140,000 kids, all in his efforts to introduce frisbee to as many people as possible and bring together the various disc sport organizations throughout all the communities in order to bring their efforts together and maximize the resources and human power to grow the sport of flying disc. Rob holds a Diploma in Electrical Engineering from Dalhousie University and majored in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Calgary.

Board member
Current term ends: 2028

Steve has been the President of USA Guts since 2007. As an athlete, he has played Guts since 1981 and his team won the 2010 US National Championship. He was a member of Team USA at WUGC 2004 and WUGC 2008 and participated in the All Japan Guts Tournament in Tokyo in 2007 and 2009. Steve is the owner and partner of LUX Interactive, which provides web-based software solutions to a variety of clients, including concentrations in airlines, not-for-profit organizations, and e-commerce clients.

Board member: 2025-present
Current term ends: 2026

Ronny Ochoro serves as President of the All-Africa Flying Disc Federation with over a decade of flying disc experience. He currently serves as an Ultimate Coach at the International School of Kenya and contributes to university sports nationwide as an Administration Board Member of the Kenya University Sports Federation. Ronny was pivotal in establishing the Nairobi Ultimate Disc League, serving as Secretary General in 2023, and was the founder of the Maseno University Frisbee Club. He has been integral in the financial success of Cool Water Frisbee Club and has significantly driven community engagement and event planning for Black Fish Ultimate. As a Tournament Director, Ronny led the Frisbee East African Sand Tournament in 2022 and 2023 and the International School of Kenya Open Tournament in 2023 and 2024. Recognized as Volunteer of the Year at the 2019 Maseno University Sports Awards, Ronny's passion for Ultimate has also led teams like Black Fish Ultimate and Cool Water Frisbee Club to numerous titles. He is currently Sales Development Director at Fancy Sports Apparels in the Nairobi region and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Agricultural Economics with Information Technology from Maseno University.

Board member: 2024-present
Current term ends: 2027

Jose Maria, or more known in the Asian Ultimate Community as Ping, has been an active member of the Philippine Ultimate Community since it started in the Philippines in 2002.. As an organizer, Ping has been the President and member of the Board of Directors of both the Philippine Ultimate Association (PUA) and later the Philippine Flying Disc Association (PFDA). He has also been a member of the Tournament Organizing Committee of several WFDF Events in the region. He is currently the Technical Director of the Juniors National Team Program of the PFDA and has been a player, captain, coach and manager of the National Team of the Philippines, Pilipinas Ultimate. He works on the continued development of the sport of Ultimate in the Philippines through Grassroots Programs through his Company, JMJ Sports Training Services, and was recently voted as the President of the Asia Oceania Flying Disc Federation (AOFDF) after serving as the Federation’s Secretary General from 2017-2019 and the Ultimate Committee Chairperson from 2020 – 2023. He is currently employed as the Sports and Recreations Manager of Alabang Country Club and is married for 16 years to teammate Guila and has 4 kids who all play ultimate.

Board member: 2021-present
Current term ends: 2027

Chasen currently serves as the President of Asociación Departamental de Ultimate Managua (ADUM), a local flying disc association in Nicaragua, and has been a board member of the PanAmerican Flying Disc Federation since 2022. He is also the Executive Director of Breaking Borders which uses the sport of Ultimate as a way to mentor and disciple youth. He has lived in Nicaragua since 2015 and has been an integral part to the growth of Ultimate in the country. He has a passion for working with young people and helping them recognize where their value truly comes from. He believes that Ultimate is an excellent tool to build community, teach leadership and conflict resolution, and compete. He believes that PAFDF can help accomplish the goals that WFDF has set forth in its strategic plan if they can inspire and equip their national members and their communities to join in the work. In his role as the PAFDF President he will work to do the following: to solidify relationships in the region which will lead to more buy-in and consequently more people involved to accomplish the mission of WFDF; to create accessible events for all, which will lead to the level of play increasing, will help our countries compete better at global and regional events, and will help build important connections and relationships between participating teams; to work to help the WFDF member countries in the Pan American region to be more compliant and committed as members of WFDF so that they can experience more growth in their countries. He is starting to play more Disc Golf as he gets slower and slower on the Ultimate field. Chasen received his BS in Health Sciences from the University of South Florida in 2013. He is married to Katie with two young children, Alex and Bailey.

Board member: 2021-present
Current term ends: 2028

Haude was re-elected EFDF President in January 2026. Having discovered Flying Disc in 1998, she has been playing Ultimate in club since 2008, and coaching since 2012. She was a French National Champion in the Women division (2010 to 2013) and French Mixed National Team captain (2010 to 2016). A FFFD Board member for International affairs since 2016 she also serves as EUF Board member (Competition Coordinator) since. Working as a System Engineering Manager in THALES (Air Traffic Management domain) she graduated with an Engineering diploma from SUPELEC (Paris, FRANCE) and Master of Electrical and Computer Engineering (GeorgiaTech, USA).

Board member: 2025-present
Current term ends: 2027

Natalie Robinson serves as Acting Chief Executive Officer of Australia Flying Disc Association. Natalie brings a wealth of experience to the role, having served as the Chief Executive Officer of Queensland Ultimate and being a driving force in strategic transformation, increasing program reach, securing government funding, and building sustainable sport delivery models in Queensland. She also has significant tournament delivery experience, most recently as an Assistant Tournament Director for the 2024 World Ultimate Championships on the Gold Coast. Natalie first started playing disc in 2000 at the Australian Catholic University in North Sydney and played Uni Games while studying, and competed in Women’s and Mixed Nationals with Manly, Hills, and Sand Dunes from 2001 to 2014. She was on the national team for Australia at the WFDF 2011 World Beach Ultimate Championships, and played Women’s Masters for Primal at WUCC in 2014. After WUCC, she moved into the administrative side of the sport starting in 2017. Natalie has a corporate background in environmental consulting, specializing in compliance, risk management and stakeholder engagement. She has a Bachelors degree from Australian Catholic University in Environmental Science and a Graduate Certificate in Ecology & Groundwater Studies from the University of Technology.

Board member: 2024-present
Current term ends: 2030

Esther Omuseni is now WFDF’s Women in Sport Commission Chair. As Director-at-large she will develop flying disc sports globally and focusing on gender equality and equity, inclusive participation in promoting gender equality, cultural sensitivity, youth empowerment and collaboration and representation. She holds a Msc. Medical biotechnology at Maseno University and a Degree in Bsc, Biomedical Science and Technology at Egerton University (Njoro Campus).

Board member: 2020-present
Current term ends: 2026

Nicole was one of the founding members of the Project Ultimate Femenino (UF!) in the Dominican Republic in 2010, which resulted in the formation of the first female ultimate teams in the country, and she became the co-founder and captain the following year of two of the first women’s Dominican teams, Fusion and Panteras. Over the years she played for several local teams, three of which she served as Spirit Captain for. She was the President of the Dominican National Association (AUDN) for the 2018-2020 term. She served as the Pan American Flying Disc Federation president and WFDF board member from 2020-2023, is a member of the WFDF Ultimate Committee, was a volunteer at the WFDF 2018 WUCC in Cincinnati, was the WFDF Assistant Tournament Technical Director for the PanAmerican Ultimate Championship in Sarasota, FL in 2019, and the Spirit Director for the WFDF 2022 WUCC in Cincinnati. Nicole received her Clinical Psychology degree from the Univeridad Iberoamericana in Santo Domingo and her postgraduate degree in Social Cognitive Therapy from Universidad de Barcelona in Spain. She is currently the Academic Director at the Ikigai SISU School in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. She is fluent in Spanish and English.

Board member: 2020-present
Current term ends: 2030

Wolfgang has played Ultimate for the last 15 years in Europe (Sweden, Norway) and in Asia (India, Singapore) participating in a number of tournaments at all levels across Europe and especially Southeast Asia, including three WFDF World Championships. He has also been involved in Singapore’s beach Ultimate scene and previously was involved in the Indian Ultimate community for more than 7 years working mostly on the systems and administration side of things. Wolfgang has been an active member of the SOTG Committee since 2018 with a particular focus on updating the scoring system and doing analytics on the data. An Austrian national, Wolfgang has been involved in digital product design since 2004 and is currently the Design/Product Lead at PebbleRoad in Singapore. He received his Diplom-Ingenieur (FH) in Information and Communication Engineering at Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences (AUT) and Linköping University (SWE) and Master of Science in Human-Computer Interaction and Interaction Design at Chalmers University of Technology in (SWE).

Board member: 2026-present
Current term ends: 2030

Dr. Florian Beiglböck has been a member of the WFDF Medical and Anti-Doping Committee since 2011. He began playing Ultimate in 1988, joining Groove connection while attending university in Vienna and playing with Wall City after moving to Berlin in 1991. He has participated in around 15 European and World Championships with his clubs and the Austrian national team, from Open to Great Grand Masters divisions. After receiving his Approbation in 1998, he worked in different hospitals and specialized in internal medicine and also as an emergency doctor. He developed an interest in endocrinology and diabetes and completed his training in 2007. Since 2008, Dr. Beiglböck has been working in outpatient internal medicine/endocrinology care. As of July 2022, he is a partner at the Hormone Center Heidelberg. His areas of expertise include all thyroid diseases, as well as osteology, andrology, and diabetology, and he also works with transsexual and intersexual patients. Outside of his medical practice, he is very active in the care of obese people and has actively helped to establish the Karlsruhe Obesity Center and the Rhine-Neckar Obesity Network. He has also founded a foundation to support Frisbee sport in Karlsruhe, especially among youth. Dr. Beiglböck received his PhD at the Free University of Berlin in Dermatology (Cum laude) and also did his medical studies at the University of Vienna. He and his wife live in Karlsruhe, Germany and two of his three children are active Ultimate players.

Board member: 2022-present
Current term ends: 2026

Caroline was elected as member of the WFDF Athletes’ Commission at WUCC2022 and thereafter chosen by the Commission as its chair. She has been presenting Germany as part of various national teams and participated in numerous international events, including 2010 EYUC Heilbronn, GER (U17 girls, 1st place and Spirit Winner), 2011 EYUC Wroclaw, POL (U20 women, 2nd place), 2012 WYUC Dublin, IRL (U20 women, 4th place and Spirit Winner), 2013 EYUC Cologne, GER (U20 women, 1st place), 2015 WU24C London, GBR (U24 women), 2016 WUGC London, GBR (adult women), 2018 WU24C Perth, AUS (U24 women), 2019 EUC Györ, HUN (adult women, captain). At club level, she competes internationally with YAKA from Noisy-le-Sec, FRA. She also has been serving as a National Coach for various Junior women’s teams from 2015 to 2022. With a master’s degree in International Sport Development and Politics, Caroline understands challenges of sports governance and knows about the importance of athlete’s representation. Currently, Caroline is leading the Erasmus+ funded project “Empowering women in Ultimate Frisbee – Play.Coach.Grow”, which is a joint project by DFV (Germany) and IFDA (Ireland). She currently lives in Karlsruhe, Germany.

Board member: 2024-present
Current term ends: 2026

Filomena Fortes was appointed as an independent board member of WFDF in 2024, with a long history of sports experience in Cape Verde, across Africa, and in the Olympic Movement, and she has been an IOC Member since 2019. She is President of the Cape Verdean Olympic Committee (2014-present) and currently serves as Vice-President of Zone II of ANOCA, as President of the Association of Olympic Committees of Portuguese Official Language (ACOLOP), Vice-President of the Women and Sport Commission of ANOCA, and as a Member of the WADA Foundation Board. Within the IOC, Fortes is a member of the Future Host Commission for the Games of the Olympiad (2019-present), Sustainability and Legacy Commission (2022-present), and Olympism 365 (2022-present), and was previously a member of the Sport and Active Society Commission (2014-2021), Olympic Education Commission (2014-2021), and Coordination of the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad Los Angeles 2028 Commission (2019-2020). For Rio 2016, she served as head of the Cape Verdean Delegation to the Olympic Games and as Paralympic Attaché to the Paralympic Games, and for London 2012 was Paralympic Attaché to the Paralympic Games. She was also a Founder Member of Cape Verdean Paralympic Committee and was previously President of the Cape Verdean Handball Federation (2014-2017). Outside of sports administration, Fortes has worked as a secondary school physical education teacher, professor and coordinator of physical education and sports courses at UNICV (1996-2012), and as Coordinator of the Physical Education and Sports course at the Public University of Cape Verde (2012-2014). She earned a degree in Physical Culture at the High Institute Manuel Fajardo, Cuba, a Postgraduate in Youth Education at Coimbra, Portugal, a Master in Sport Sciences (FCDEF) at Porto University, Portugal, an Executive Master in Sports Organisations at MEMOS, and a PHD in Sciences of Education from Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal.

Jonathan Rigby brings over 25 years of experience across international sport, commercial strategy, and brand development. Since 2022, Jonathan has worked as a strategy advisor to CEOs and Boards across a variety of established and emerging sports. His recent projects include advising England Athletics on community and commercial modernization, designing a live-data commercialization strategy for the FIA, leading sponsorship valuation and market engagement for Burghley Horse Trials, and providing marketing support for Sheffield United FC during an ownership transition. From 2020 to 2022, he served as Commercial & Marketing Director for the inaugural UCI Cycling World Championships, securing Lidl as headline sponsor and working closely with international, national, and government partners to establish a new multi-discipline global event model. At British Cycling from 2017–2020, he managed the £8m-per-year HSBC UK partnership, delivered major participation and membership growth programs, negotiated broadcast agreements with BBC, ITV, and Eurosport, and launched Britain’s first televised eRacing National Championships. From 2010 to 2015, Jonathan served as Head of Marketing at Manchester United, overseeing more than 45 global partners including Chevrolet, Adidas, Nike, Aon, DHL, Pepsi, and Unilever, more than doubling the club’s commercial revenue. He began his career in the advertising and creative industries with firms such as Interpublic and AMV BBDO, building a foundation in brand strategy, partnerships, and audience engagement. He has a BA (Hons) in Marketing from the University of Stirling and currently lives with his family near Manchester in the UK.